CHICAGO (June 23, 2023) — In its 38th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Solai Washington of Chamblee High School is the 2022-23 Gatorade Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Washington is the first Gatorade Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Chamblee High School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Washington as Georgia’s best high school girls soccer player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in June, Washington joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Alyssa Thompson (2020-21, Harvard-Westlake School, Calif.), Mallory Swanson (2014-15, Mountain Vista High School, Colo.), Heather O’Reilly (2002-03 & 2001-02, East Brunswick High School, N.J.) and Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy School of Young Women, N.Y.).
The 5-foot-6 junior forward led the Bulldogs to a 21-0-1 record and the Class 5A state championship this past season. Washington scored 42 goals and passed for nine assists, including a four-goal, two-assist outburst in Chamblee High School’s 9-0 win over Greenbrier High School in the state final. Washington is a member of the Jamaican National Team and will represent Jamaica at the 2023 Women’s World Cup next month in Australia and New Zealand. The GeorgiaHighSchoolSoccer.com Class 5A Player of the Year, she is ranked as the nation’s No. 29 recruit in the Class of 2024 by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Washington has volunteered locally as part of multiple community service initiatives through her church. “Solai is a game-changer in the attacking third,” said Curtis Engsberg, head coach of Marist School. “She is so dangerous. The goal she scored against us was absolutely incredible—just three perfect touches to make space for the shot and then curled one an inch inside the far post.”
Washington has maintained a weighted 4.02 GPA in the classroom. She has made a verbal commitment to play soccer on scholarship at Duke University beginning in the fall of 2024.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Washington joins recent Gatorade Georgia Girls Soccer Players of the Year Riley Jackson (2021-22, Blessed Trinity Catholic High School), Henley Tippins (2020-21, Westminster School), and Nieva Gaither (2019-20 & 2018-19, Parkview High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
Being a Gatorade Player of the Year means paying it forward for the next generation. Through Gatorade’s Play it Forward initiative, every Player of the Year receives a grant to give to one of Gatorade’s social impact partners, supporting Gatorade’s ambition to fuel the future of sport. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.
For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY, Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade and Twitter at twitter.com/Gatorade.
